Gas Monkey Garage News
Dallas' celeb gas monkey Richard Rawlings revs up bar & grill in Sturgis
Richard Rawlings is revving up a new bar & grill.
Colorful Dallas celebrity gearhead Richard Rawlings is opening a restaurant — but not in Dallas.
According to a release, Rawlings' automotive brand Gas Monkey Garage is putting down roots in Sturgis, South Dakota, with a new bar and grill called Gas Monkey Sturgis.
Rawlings is partnering on the concept with longtime friend Mike Sisk. The duo have gone through demolition, new construction, and complete renovation, and hope to get it open on August 2 — just in time for the first day of the 2024 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the annual tourism event that draws more than 500,000 attendees to the Black Hills region. Hoo boy, bet that's noisy.
According to Rawlings, this is not just a pop-up.
"We’re going to be open year-round with a full bar, breakfast, lunch and dinner, bringing the Gas Monkey experience to one of my favorite places in the Black Hills," he says. “Mike and I are committed to this community and invested in the future of Sturgis."
"We’re happy to be open in time for the rally, and we’re especially excited about next year’s big 85th and the even bigger 90th," he says. "[But] there's a lot going on in the Black Hills — not just the rally itself. Things start happening in May and go through until September until the first snow. They've got a lot of new developments, golf courses club houses — all kinds of things are happening."
That said, for the rally, they'll definitely have the bar with liquor, beer, and wine fully operational on opening day.
Food-wise, there will be a limited "rally menu" with breakfast, lunch, and dinner items, to ensure the utmost quality.
Sturgis-based executive chef Rick Balcom is creating a Texas Roadhouse-style menu that will have an emphasis on pizza and include burgers, sandwiches, salads, and chili, available year-round.
Unsurprisingly, limited-edition Gas Monkey Sturgis merchandise will be available for sale.
The venue will be located at 1025 Junction Ave., in a space that has been home to a pizzeria and two other short-lived bars over the past few years. It's advantageously positioned across the street from the Harley Davidson dealership, which becomes a huge hang during the rally, and a block away from the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame.
They're giving the space a Gas Monkey-style makeover, with found objects they've brought back to life. If you want to see an utterly mesmerizing video of beer bins being fabricated in their shop — including closeups of metal welding, sparks flashing, and the like — set to a soothing rock music backdrop, here's the link.
